


He Just Wants to Play

by MavenfreakingCalore



Category: Red Queen Series - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Book 1: Red Queen, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Maven is five, Sad with a Happy Ending, Schizophrenia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 08:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24348247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MavenfreakingCalore/pseuds/MavenfreakingCalore
Summary: This takes place way before the events of Red Queen.Maven is five. He is a normal child, although he can be, well, Maven at times. He is shy and all he wants to do is play with someone. I did this to show the relationship between Maven and Elara and how I think he became so trusting of her. It makes sense I promise.
Relationships: Elara Merandus & Maven Calore, Tiberias "Cal" Calore & Maven Calore, Tiberias Calore & Maven Calore
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	He Just Wants to Play

”Maven, I’m trying to work. Go find Cal.” His father was sitting at his desk, writing on various forms. All Maven wanted to do was watch. He’s lonely these days, he wants to be with his Father.

“Cal is with his friends. He won’t want to.” he makes the last word sound longer, extending it into a whine. He’s tempted to throw a fit, but lately that hasn’t been getting him anywhere. 

“They’re your friends too, Mavey.” It’s clear Tiberias is annoyed at his son's presence. These situations happen more often that they should. Maven is just shy, or that’s what he thinks the problem is. He has trouble doing things on his own, so he clings to people he trusts. Mostly Cal and Tiberias. As of late, Elara has been almost scaring him. He doesn’t seem as close to her as before. Tiberias isn’t worried about it though. Maven’s only five, he’s still figuring himself out. From what he’s been told, it’s normal for children to have phases. He also might have heard something about her, ladies of the court love their gossip. 

“But I want to stay here,” Maven sits down on the floor, making a ‘hmph’ sound as he does. “I don’t like Cal’s friends. They’re mean to me.” He’s not wrong. An example is the Samos’ children. They aren’t exactly kind. But Maven needs to learn to handle other people, he can’t just hide from what scares him.

“Mavey, just stick with your brother. You don’t just have to play with the Samos’ kids.” Tiberias has looked up from the files, giving his son his full attention. “You like that Haven girl, what was her name, Elane?” Maven nods his head, “you got along with her last spring.” Maven doesn’t acknowledge that his father is right.

“I just don’t  _ feel  _ like playing right now.” He’s making excuses, trying to get his way.

“You don’t want to play?”

“No.” He starts the play with the carpet, pulling it apart. 

“I guess you could take a nap if you’re tired.” That gets Maven’s attention. Even when tired, no child  _ wants  _ to take a nap. 

“No.” He’s only giving one word answers now, signaling his defeat.

“No? Then go find your brother.” Maven huffs again and stands going towards the door. He doesn’t look back as he exits. 

“Goodbye, Mavey.” Tiberias gets back to his work.

Maven kicks his feet as he walks down the plush carpeted hallways. His mother would scold him for this, but she isn’t here. He hates these annual court meetings. They steal his mother from him. She is busy in many tea parties and luncheons that seem to never end. So, he gets stuck with his father, who always pushes him away. He never pushes Cal away. It’s something Maven doesn’t understand yet, but he will.

Cal is in the gardens, surrounded by all the other silver children. Even the ones years older than him crane to speak with the prince. It’s like they don’t realize there’s two of them. 

“Cal!” Maven yells, jogging over to his brother. Some of the children look his way, but their gaze doesn’t last long. They don’t care much about him. “Cal, can I play with you.” Cal just merely looks at him, then he looks around. Maven can see a few shake their heads.

“Mavey, remember last time? We made an agreement.” No, Maven doesn’t remember last time. He was four at the time, what did Cal expect.

“I just want to play with you.” 

“You can’t play with us, Maven.” Cal was trying not to be rude, but it’s hard when Maven won’t listen. 

“But, why?” He seemed heartbroken at the least. It made Cal feel bad, but Ptolemus didn’t like playing with Maven last time. He just wants to keep his friends happy.

“Maven, just go back inside,” Evangeline piped up. She’s not the type to hold back, and it shows. 

“Evangeline, don’t talk to him like that, he’ll cry.” It is true. Maven will do anything to get what he wants, and that includes crying. Neither of them wanted to get Elara involved in this. Maven just stood and watched as they argued.

“He doesn’t do it right.”

“He’ll ruin the game.”

“He always cheats.”

The children all shouted at Cal, trying to make him kick Maven out. Not one of them had any reason to believe that, or maybe they did. Maven wasn’t sure. There was one thing he was sure of.

“I  _ don’t  _ cheat!” Maven looked at the girl who accused him. “Tell her Cal, I never cheat.” Cal looked frustrated, he didn’t know what to do. “ _ Tell _ her.” 

“Maven doesn’t cheat,” he said, but not loud enough. It was more of a mumble to the people around him. 

“Come on Cal, let's play.”

“No, Maven.” 

“Cal,” Maven whined, “what did I do?” There were tears in his eyes now. He didn’t want to cry, but he couldn’t help it. Cal hurt his feelings. Now all of the other kids will make fun of him. Cal could see the tears. If Maven started  _ really  _ crying Elara would find some way to punish him. And his father doesn’t like Maven unsupervised outside. Even though there are guards, he can’t risk something happening. Hide and Seek isn’t exactly the game to play with someone you need to keep an eye on.

“Mavey, it’s okay. We can play later. We always play together, just the two of us. It’s better that way.” Maven nodded, sniffling a bit.

“Really?”

“Yes, Mavey.” The group of children around them just stared, not wanting to interrupt the princes. What Cal was doing was working. “Now go inside and find something quiet to do. I’ll come in before dinner.” Maven wasn’t satisfied with this agreement, but he wanted to play with his brother, even if it wasn’t at the moment. He sauntered away from the group. Away from the kids who would never accept him. 

Inside, the air conditioners have kicked on. It’s getting hotter outside, making the air moist. He can hear voices down the hall, feminine voices. They’re talking courtly to each other, a language he has yet to learn but isn’t unfamiliar with. Among them is one familiar. He could find that voice a mile away.

“Mommy!” He yells down the hallway. Some of the voices stop, listening to the commotion. “Mommy I need you!” He runs to the remainder of the voices. Down the hallway, turn a corner. Nobody. There’s no one there. He turns, looking for somebody. Then he becomes desperate. In his head he thinks “she left me.” But that’s not the case at all. She was  _ never  _ there. He starts the cry. He falls on the ground and sobs. All he wants is his mom. At this point she’s his lifeline. His father pushed him away, so did his brother. She’s always there for him, or he believes that. He’s only five, he relies on other people to make his life okay. And when they’re not there, that upsets him.

His sobs are loud, they echo down the entire corridor. 

“Maven? What are you doing?” There she is. He hears her voice and begins to stand. He’s still a little wobbly, he was a late walker. His movements aren’t exactly graceful, even with the help of his mother. Her heels manage to click even on the carpet. “What are you doing?” She asks again. Her voice isn’t kind, she’s almost reprimanding him. 

“Looking for you.” He forgets the ‘I’ and the ‘was.’ Around his mother he becomes more babyish, more vulnerable. He succumbs to her. After all, he trusts her. She scares him sometimes, when she gets in his head. Only when desperate, is when he’d want his mother. Now happens to be one of those times. 

“Someone could have seen you, that’s not how I want people to view you.”

“Sorry.”

“Is that how you want to be seen? As a baby?”

“No.”

“Good.” He’s only five, but she still sees something else. She wants him to be the best he can be, at a young age too. It’s motherly love. That’s what she calls it, even though it’s far from it. Maven runs up to her, lifting his arms above his head. He wants her to pick him up. She never does, making him walk beside her. This time, though, something has changed. Maybe she missed her son. He’s been distancing himself from her. That has had an effect. Elara lifts him up, balancing Maven on her hip. He’s too old for this, she knows that, but she loves him. And, he’s had a rough day.

“You’re getting heavy.” She comments. He doesn’t answer, just rests his head on her shoulder. “Come on, let's go find something fun to do.”

“You’ll play with me?” He lifts his head and looks in her eyes. 

“Of course I’ll play with you.” Maven smiles up at her.

_ Finally.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Did this make sense?  
> I wrote this quickly, so I might go back and make changes. I really don't know  
> Hope you're having a wonderful day <3


End file.
